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In order to improve communicative competence in a foreign language, the learner should be well aware of what to say and how to behave in a given situation. Such competence arises from the learner's awareness of the target culture. This paper is an attempt to examine how much awareness Korean college students have about the cultures of English-speaking countries. Ninety five college students were asked to answer 15 questions by focusing on American cultures. The questions were selectively prepared based on the story of Prime Love. The result shows that the subjects' awareness is below 40% for those cultural aspects, which include national image of the USA, age, counseling, homosexuality, dating, and more particularly non-verbal communication including gestures. However, the subjects appear to be relatively well informed about those areas such as weekend activities, pastime, invitation, and giving gifts. In class, students may be encouraged to spend some time practicing linguistic expressions together with appropriate behavioral activities using role plays and miniplays. It is also suggested that one seemingly important culture is shown from different movies and then students are encouraged to find out some common features and differences for themselves. |
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